Thursday July 16- Direct mail

Hi !

Gorilla: What’s cookin this week 

In this week’s enews…

• This week’s poll: How’s it goin so far?

• Surprise! Direct mail and younger generations

• Two good examples for you to learn from

• MUST MUST READ: What your donors really really really really want

• The crazy world we live in

• P.S. The dictionary brings the 🔥 

The solution to last week’s Triple E (enews easter egg): Cities where the U.S. capitol has been located.

First, I want to thank everyone who participated in my kindness challenge! Whether you told me you were gonna do something or you just did it, it is very appreciated.

In last week’s enews I took a poll to find out how many of you have started working on your year-end campaign, potentially the biggest of the year. An omnichannel campaign works best- direct mail, email, phone calls, text, social media, in person meetings.

Even with all the tech advances, direct mail remains king in terms of money donated. But the question is: Does that apply to all age groups or just “older” people?

Let’s dive in to direct mail and younger generations. The answer to the above question might surprise you.

Cow face: Is direct mail for younger people?

A few truths at the outset:

1️⃣ The average donor is 60+ years old The average fundraiser is below 40.

This means there’s great potential for a communication gap between the generations. This is why it’s MISSION CRITICAL for constant and consistent communications with your donors! Learn how they want to be communicated with, what interests them and more. Survey, meet, phone, whatever it takes.

2️⃣ The drive to find large donations has completely overshadowed the need to be seeking small donations and especially monthly gifts.

It’s one of the main reasons I believe retention sucks and individual household giving is down. Too many nonprofits are neglecting people who give a “small” amount annually or $10 monthly. It makes no sense to me but this is what I’m seeing and hearing.

3️⃣ Fact is the majority of wealth right now lies with Boomers and some Gen Xers. Maybe even some older Millennials. Of course, trillions of dollars will be passed down to younger generations as Boomers begin dying out.

Which leads me into today’s discussion about direct mail.

Yes, direct mail is still king. It has the biggest ROI and can do wonders for surpassing your fundraising goals.

But when I work with organizations on their fundraising campaigns, I will hear the following: “Let’s segment our list by age where we can. Send direct mail to Boomers and Gen Xers and email and texts to Millennials and Gen Z.”

The assumption is that older people will read your mail but younger people just throw all envelopes into the garbage can.

But is that true?

A recent study found that:

• 82% of donors said they respond to direct mail, including 93% of Gen Z donors

• 80% of Gen Z donors want to receive direct mail on a monthly basis (64% of Millennials said the same)

A study from a few years ago found that when asked “which is more effective at getting you to take action,” 30% of Millennials said direct mail vs. 24% who said email. From that same study: 90% of Millennials believe that direct mail is more reliable than email.

Maybe throw your assumptions about younger donors and direct mail out the window. It’s time to meet your younger givers where they actually are.

Corpse: Send them mail!!!

What does the above mean for your organization?

When it comes to segmenting, don’t segment out younger donors from your direct mail send… unless they specifically requested to be contacted only via another channel.

The advantages of direct mail over other forms of comms and why younger people would read your letter…

• Different: It’s not a message/post they see on their phones. It demands their attention.

• Tangible: A letter is something they can hold in their hands. That’s a different experience than liking an Instagram post.

• Less crowded: Think of all the emails, texts, DM’s, social media posts a person could see in a day. This means their mailboxes are less crowded… which means more chance of getting seen, opened and read.

But sending a direct mail piece doesn’t mean you should separate print from digital. Just the opposite! The above study mentions that nearly 50% of all donors respond to a fundraising ask by visiting the organization’s website and donating online. Only 20% will mail in a check.

Here is how your fundraising direct mail piece can stand out and mobilize more young people to donate.

QR code: They can scan a QR code with their phone, go directly to your online donation form and donate. Here’s an example of what that looks like from FRAXA Research Foundation (who I previously worked with on their year-end campaign):

Monthly giving ask: I managed the end of year campaign for a national organization for many years. (Annual ROI? Averaged over 350%!) Here’s what they added as a tear off at the bottom of their direct mail ask:

The goal was to encourage more people- especially younger people- to become monthly givers.

Impact and stewardship: Make sure to use direct mail to share the impact of past gifts and steward all donors, no matter gift size! So yes, I’m emphasizing the gifts of younger people.

If they feel loved and know more about the cause, see who’s benefitting and how they’re making the world a better place, chances go up that your next direct mail piece ask will be answered positively.

In conclusion, make sure younger donors and prospects are also receiving your direct mail pieces. It will help boost your fundraising efforts!

Sphinx: Great stuff to learn from

I want to share the good being done out there and maybe give you some ideas to run with.

1️⃣ I am a HUGE fan of collabs!

As someone who was both a grant writer and worked for a global family foundation, I can tell you that many foundations and corporate sponsors look more favorably on applications which involve collaboration between two or more nonprofits.

That’s why this caught my eye: Two Detroit organizations team up to help feed elementary school students.

Too often we look at similar nonprofits in our area as competition. I’d suggest viewing them as collaborators. Work together to help more people and have more impact. It can also do wonders for your fundraising.

2️⃣ One of my favorite organizations is Children’s Day Preschool in Passaic, New Jersey. I’ve had a chance to visit them and see firsthand the amazing work they do with local children.

They’re also one of my favorite follows on Instagram. Which is why I’m sharing this:

Over the last week they have been celebrating their staff. Great idea! Allows people to meet the people who make the magic happen and show them gratitude.

This is content you should be sharing on social and email. Introduce your audience to the staff members who work in the office, in the field, run programs and services. Celebrate their achievements while also giving people a chance to “meet” these unsung heroes.

Copy what Children’s Day is doing!

Crooked Monkey: A post you ABSOLUTELY MUST read

In this section I’m going to share with you great content I’ve picked out that you can learn from.

This week is gonna be a little different.

Normally in this section I share with you five articles that I believe will interest you, help you learn and then implement what you read.

But this week I’m sharing only one post from fundraising expert Mark Phillips: Here’s what donors really really want.

I beg, implore, suggest, strongly recommend, advise you to read it. He’s basing this post on fifty years worth of research.

And I agree with everything he says! The fact is too many nonprofits communicate what they want to but not what donors actually want to read, see and hear.

Please read from start to finish. Then pick one of the six billboards and act upon it. NOW.

Himalayan duck: It’s a crazy world out there

I do a lot of reading and today I wanna share with you some weird, crazy, strange things I’ve found out there.

⚔️ There’s yoga and then there’s this type of yoga. I suggest keeping very far away from the person next to you

📱 The app where you order but then nothing shows up. Do people really have this much time on their hands?!

🏨 I don’t travel that often and when I do I usually stay at people’s houses. But if you travel a lot and stay at hotels, know what not to touch in a hotel room.

🍫 A few months ago over 400,000 of these chocolate bars were stolen. Gotta be honest: I’m not pro stealing but if you’re already gonna pull a heist, this is worth it.

Have a great weekend!

P.S. Merriam-Webster Dictionary bringing the July 4th heat: